Privacy Notice

Who we are

The Next Chapter Academy ("we", "us") operates this course and is the data controller for the personal data described here — we decide why and how it is processed.

What we collect and why

• Account data (email address, login credentials, sign-up date) — to create and secure your account and give you course access. Legal basis: performance of our contract with you.
• Course content you create (journal entries, worksheet answers, unsent letters, mood check-ins, companion conversations) — to provide the Service, save your progress, and show it back to you. Legal basis: performance of our contract.
• Progress and usage data (days completed, videos marked watched, pages visited, device and browser information, IP address) — to operate the Service, prevent fraud and abuse, and improve the course. Legal basis: contract performance and our legitimate interests.
• Support messages — to answer your questions. Legal basis: legitimate interests.
• Referral data (affiliate code, referred sign-ups) — to run the referral program. Legal basis: contract performance.
• Marketing communications, if you opt in — legal basis: consent, withdrawable at any time.

Your journal, letters, and companion conversations are private to your account. We do not sell personal data, and we do not use your private writing for advertising.

Your conversations with the companion

The companion is an AI feature. What you write to it is stored privately in your account so the conversation can continue where you left off, and is sent to our AI provider solely to generate a reply. We do not read your conversations for marketing, and we do not use them to train advertising profiles. Messages that suggest you may be at risk of harming yourself or someone else are flagged so our team can respond appropriately — that flag, and nothing else about the conversation, is visible to us.

Therapist and coach listings

If you apply to be listed in our therapist or coach directory, the professional information you submit (name, credentials, specialties, contact details, photo) is reviewed by our team and, once approved, published in the directory so members can find and contact you. Your license or certification number is used for verification only and is never shown publicly. You can ask us to update or remove your listing at any time.

Affiliate and payout data

If you join the affiliate program, we collect your referral code, the sign-ups and purchases made through it, your commission balance, and the payout details you give us (such as your Wise or bank information) so we can pay you. Payout details are used only to send your commissions and are never displayed publicly.

Who we share it with

• Service providers / subprocessors — hosting, database and authentication infrastructure, and the AI provider that generates companion responses and narration, acting on our instructions.
• Stripe, our payment processor, for card payments, receipts, refunds, and tax calculation. Your card details go directly to Stripe and are never stored by us.
• Professional advisers — legal and accounting, where needed.
• Authorities — where required by law.

International transfers

Our providers may process data outside your country, including outside the UK/EEA. Where that happens we rely on appropriate safeguards such as Standard Contractual Clauses or an adequacy decision.

Retention

We keep your account and course content for as long as your account is active, so you can return to your work. If you close your account or ask us to delete it, we delete or anonymise your data within 30 days, except records we must keep for legal, tax, or fraud-prevention reasons.

Your rights

Depending on where you live, you may have the right to access, correct, delete, restrict, or port your data, to object to processing, and to withdraw consent. UK/EEA users also have the right to complain to their supervisory authority. Contact us through the support option in your account and we'll respond within one month.

Security

We use appropriate technical and organisational measures — encryption in transit, access controls, and row-level database rules that restrict your content to your own account.

Cookies

We use essential cookies and local storage to keep you signed in and remember preferences such as your companion voice settings. These are required for the Service to work. We do not run advertising cookies. You can clear or block cookies in your browser, but signing in may stop working.

Contact

For privacy questions or requests, contact The Next Chapter Academy through the support option in your account.